


Awakening

by Hogwarts_Riddle



Category: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, Castlevania: Mirror of Fate, 悪魔城ドラキュラ | Castlevania Series
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Mirror of Fate
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-17
Updated: 2020-03-26
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:01:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23185933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hogwarts_Riddle/pseuds/Hogwarts_Riddle
Summary: What if the events of Mirror of Fate had gone a bit differently? What if Simon had stumbled upon the tomb of Alucard as the vampire knight awoke from his thirty-year slumber?
Comments: 10
Kudos: 45





	1. Chapter 1

Back against the wall, Simon let his body slide to the floor, breathing heavily as he caught his breath. He was in a living nightmare. No matter where he went it seemed there were monsters everywhere, relentlessly getting in his way. It seemed like days had passed since he crossed the threshold into Dracula's Castle, and yet the ever present moon told him otherwise. The sun had yet to rise… It was still the same night as he had come.

"I need a break. A lot of good it'll do if I drop dead from battle fatigue before I even reach Dracula," he muttered to himself.

Once his breath had evened out, he got back to his feet, his hand reaching for the whip hanging at his side. In his haste to get away from all the monsters, he had rushed into the first room he found, not bothering to check and see if the room was even safe.

The room was circular in shape with stained glass windows, offset by statues of angels adorning the walls. Much like the rest of the castle, the room was covered with cracks and dried blood stains; a sign of previous battles or a previous meal. There was no way to tell the difference in a castle filled with vampires. Either way, there were no monsters to be seen.

Then he noticed the room's sole furnishing. Standing in the middle of the room was a massive stone sarcophagus.

The sarcophagus stood on a low pedestal shaped like a star. At the base of it were four dragon statues with glowing red eyes; the symbol of Dracula himself, and along the sides were the figures of four weeping women, each looking identical with long dark hair and brown eyes filled with tears.

"Can it be?" he wondered aloud. "Is this the tomb of Dracula?"

It was clear to see that a lot of work and care had gone into crafting it. Surely such a burial had to have been made for someone important. It made sense for the lord of the castle to have such an elaborate resting place. Yet, for some reason, he got the feeling that wasn't the case.

Reluctantly he approached the sarcophagus, climbing up onto the pedestal to get a better look at the lid. What he found left him confused. Written on the lid of the sarcophagus was a name, but it wasn't Dracula.

"Alucard?"

It didn't make sense. Who was this Alucard and why did he have a sarcophagus with the symbol of Dracula carved into it? Was he a high ranking vampire in Dracula's ranks?

He was still racking his brain, trying to understand the significance of the tomb, when he felt the lid begin to move beneath his hands.

Letting out a startled yelp, Simon leapt back. He cursed himself for becoming so taken in by the sarcophagus. This was Dracula's Castle, he reminded himself. He was going to get himself killed if he stopped to ponder every grave he stumbled upon.

With his whip out, ready to defend himself, Simon watched as the lid was pushed aside. After a moment, a figure arose from inside. His eyes widened in awe as he took in the sight. Standing before him was a man, tall and broad-shouldered with long white hair and glowing yellow eyes. There was no doubt about it … He was a vampire.

Climbing out of his sarcophagus, the white-haired vampire started towards him, staggering as if he was drunk.

"Get back!" Simon exclaimed, retreating a step back.

Much to Simon's surprise, this seemed to startle the vampire. He stopped abruptly in his tracks, raising his hands up in surrender.

"Forgive me if I startled you, but you seem familiar to me. Do I know you?" the vampire spoke, his fangs briefly peeking out from behind his pale lips.

Simon gave him a good look-over. He had to admit that there was something vaguely familiar about the white-haired vampire, but he couldn't put his finger on why or how.

"I doubt that. You wouldn't be walking this earth if we had met before."

"Have I done something to make you hate me?" the vampire asked. "If I have, I am deeply sorry."

"Your existence alone is enough to make me hate you, vampire!"

The vampire cokes his head to the side, giving Simon a questioning look, "Vampire? Is that who I am?"

Now it was Simon's turn to be confused. Was this vampire trying to mess with him? Was he trying to convince him that he was completely clueless? If he was, it was starting to work.

"You can't be serious… You mean to tell me that you don't even know who you are?"

The vampire shook his head. "All I know is that I just woke up inside a coffin," he explained. "I can't remember anything before… I had hoped that you knew who I was, seeing as you were there when I awoke."

Simon could see honesty in the creature's eyes. His golden orbs were filled with nothing but sorrow and confusion. He hadn't thought it possible, but he actually felt sorry for a vampire.

This man had clearly just been turned. Simon didn't know much about vampirism, but he knew enough to spot a newborn one. The man seemed weak, stumbling about, gripping the side of the sarcophagus for support as if he would collapse at any moment.

It made him wonder… Was this how all vampires awoke; Sad and unable to remember who they were before?

He shook his head. That couldn't be the case. He had heard tales of vampires coming back for those who had wronged them in their previous lives to have their revenge.

No, he got the feeling that this was a special case. This man looked like a vampire but he didn't really act like one. He could have lunged at him and ripped his throat apart by now, but he hadn't. He either wasn't thirsty or possessed a great deal of self restraint, especially for one who just awoke.

"I'm afraid I do not. I stumbled upon this room by accident, but judging from the name inscribed on the sarcophagus, I'd have to guess that your name is Alucard."

The white-haired vampire turned back to face the sarcophagus. Slowly he approached the lid, crouching down and running his clawed fingers over the name.

"Alucard… The name doesn't sound familiar, but I suppose it could have been my name."

After a few moments, the vampire, Alucard, stood again and began to gaze around the room.

"I feel like I've been here before… I-I think this was the room in which I died…"

Simon had figured as much. Though he was still puzzling over the significance of the sarcophagus and its significance. If this man had been killed and turned by Dracula, it seemed unlikely that Dracula would place him in such an elaborate tomb without reasoning. Could it be that this man was somehow special to the Vampire Lord?

"Does the name Dracula ring any bells?"

At the sound of the name, Alucard stopped dead in his tracks. His shoulders tensed and his fists clenched as he slowly turned back to face Simon. The dark look on his face said it all.

"I don't know why… But when you said that name, I felt a rush of overwhelming anger flow inside of me," he said. "I do not know how I know him, only that I want to kill him."

"Well then, sounds like we have a shared goal. I too have come to Dracula's Castle in hopes of killing him. Perhaps if we team up, we might have a better chance of doing so."

Simon wasn't sure if the idea was wise. Joining forces with a vampire wasn't exactly something he would ordinarily do. He couldn't explain it, but he felt this connection to Alucard; as if they were meant to find each other. It was as if they knew each other somehow… As if they had always known each other.

Alucard nodded his head in agreement, extending a hand to him. "Might I know the name of the man I am to be fighting alongside of?"

Reluctantly Simon took the hand offered and shook it, being careful to not be scratched by the claws. "My name is Simon Belmont."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Simon Belmont," Alucard smiled. "I hope I can be of some help to you."

Through the windows, Simon could see that the night was starting to lift. For the moment, that was good. It would give them a bit of time to prepare. He could get some much needed rest, and Alucard … He doubted that the vampire needed rest … No, he assumed that what the vampire needed to recover its strength was to feed. The thought made him tense. He hadn't thought of how or who his accomplice would be getting his food from.

"Don't worry, I won't drink from you." Alucard assured him as if he had just read his thoughts. "You can rest here and I'll stand guard outside the door to make sure nothing disturbs you."

Simon let out a sigh of relief. Ordinarily he would have been more on guard, especially around a vampire, but for some reason he believed Alucard when he said he would keep him safe. He trusted him to guard him. It was truly bizarre, but he was much too tired to try and fight it.

"I'd appreciate that."

With a final nod of the head, Alucard staggered out of the room, closing the door behind him.

A part of Simon worried that his new friend would be too weak to take on any monsters that came his way, but he quickly shook such concerns away. Alucard was a vampire. He'd be fine. He needed to focus on himself for now.

Casting another glance around the room, he searched for a place to lay down. He briefly debated over trying the sarcophagus, but ruled that out soon after. There was no way he was going to sleep in the bed of the undead. Instead, he settled for a relatively clean spot on the floor in front of one of the many windows.

Laying down, he did his best to get comfortable, using part of his fur pelt to cushion his head. Secure in the knowledge that Alucard was standing guard outside and the sunlight that would surely wash over him while he slept would offer him more than enough protection, he closed his eyes and allowed himself to relax. He was gone within minutes.

...

Alucard collapsed almost as soon as the door was closed. He needed to feed. He knew nothing else. There was blood everywhere, slowly closing in on him and threatening to overwhelm him. He had done his best to hide it from the red-haired man, but the truth was that he had been sorely tempted to drain him dry.

He didn't know who he was, but still he hated himself, or rather the vampire that he had become. Somehow he knew deep down that he hadn't always been this way. He had to have been human before, meaning that someone had made him this way… Someone had turned him, selfishly stealing him from the life he knew before, and judging by the hatred that bubbled inside of him at the mention of this Dracula, he suspected that he was the culprit.

If only he could remember who he was. Did he have a family somewhere outside of this castle? Were they missing him? Did they think him dead? That, he couldn't answer.

Then there was the issue of his name. Alucard… Was that really his name? It didn't fit as he felt it should. There were several names that sounded familiar, but Alucard was not one of them.

Simon Belmont, on the other hand, was a name that sounded so familiar to him. In fact, everything about him was familiar, yet he couldn't place why that was. He had this unexplainable desire to protect Simon from all those who would wish harm on him. Which is exactly why he fled from the room when he did…

Alucard knew that he was going to have to get his strength back if he was to be of any use, and the only way to do that was to sate his thirst. He was determined not to hurt his new friend, or any other human beings for that matter, but that didn't leave him with a lot of food sources.

That was when the beasts started to come. Dozens of dwarven hunchbacks came out of nowhere, running at him with wooden shields and pitchforks. They came to an abrupt halt in front of him, scratching their heads and mumbling something amongst themselves before continuing on with their attacks.

He struggled at first, unarmed and weak with thirst, but then he came across a strange cross-shaped weapon lying around in the hall. Without hesitation, he snatched it up and used it to fight off the hunchbacks.

Something deep inside him seemed to come into place. He felt somehow more whole than he had before. Like the weapon was an integral part of him that he had been missing for so long. From that moment on, he fought with ease. His body moved instinctively, as if it knew what it was doing on it's own. Before long, there was a pile of fallen hunchbacks at his feet.

"Who was I in my previous life?" he asked himself, staring down at the weapon in his hands. "Was I like Simon; a warrior who came to try and defeat Dracula?"

If he was, he had clearly failed. The nagging ache in his throat reminded him of such, but it also brought an idea to mind.

Crouching down before the pile of hunchbacks, he observed them for a moment, noticing blood dripping from the open wounds across their body. Their blood didn't exactly smell the most appealing to him, but it was there and so he scooped up one of the dead hunchbacks and sunk his teeth into its wrinkled flesh, draining the tiny body dry.

He did the same with four more hunchbacks, throwing them off to the side as he finished them off. Once he had his fill, he pulled back, wiping the excess blood dripping from his mouth with the back of his arm.

"Well, at least it did the trick."

Just like its smell, its taste left some to be desired, but the constant ache in his throat had lessened to a point where it was barely noticeable. Not only that, but he felt a bit stronger from it as well. He smiled. At least he knew that he had an effective substitute. He wouldn't have to worry about attacking Simon.

True to his word, he remained outside the door, listening to the slow but steady heartbeat of the man on the other side. Hours passed and though a few more hunchbacks did wander his way, his watch was uneventful for the most part.

Eventually, he heard Simon begin to stir, signalling that he was finished sleeping. He waited patiently outside the door, unable to re-enter the room on account of the open ceiling, until the door finally opened and the red-headed warrior emerged, yawning and rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Did you sleep well?" he asked.

"As well as you can expect when you're lying on a hard floor," Simon said with a shrug.

It was then that Simon noticed the pile of hunchback corpses scattered about, eyeing them curiously.

"I take it you managed to find some food for yourself," he stated, glancing back over at Alucard. "I'd say it helped. You seem to be in a much better state than when you first woke."

Alucard nodded. "I also managed to find a weapon for myself," he held it up for Simon to see.

"It's a battle cross!" Simon's eyes went wide. "May I have a look at it?"

Alucard handed it over a bit reluctantly, feeling a bit bare without his new-found weapon.

Simon examined the battle cross quite thoroughly as if searching for something. Whatever it was, he obviously didn't find it judging from the frown that surfaced on his face.

"Is something wrong with it?"

"No, nothing like that," Simon insisted, handing it back to Alucard. "I thought it might have been my father's old battle cross, but I was mistaken."

Alucard raised a brow. "Your father had a weapon like this? What did you call it? A battle cross?"

"Yeah, apparently it's still here in the castle. I hope to find it before I face the Dark Lord."

"Well, I'll do my best to help you in that regard," Alucard promised. "I seem to remember the basic layout of the castle from before. I might have seen it somewhere and just passed by."

"That would be much appreciated, seeing as my previous guide just up and vanished on me," Simon muttered bitterly. Clearly there was some bad blood between him and his so-called previous guide. "Anyway, we should get going. I've already slept for a good part of the day and the other night creatures will no doubt be out again when night falls."

Both in agreement with the idea, they started off into the castle's winding halls.


	2. Chapter 2

"There it is!"

Simon rushed forward into the chamber that had previously stood hidden behind a statue. He could hardly believe it. Before his very eyes, laid on a cushioned pedestal at the very end of the chamber was the battle cross of his father.

There was no doubt in his mind that this was the one. Although the years had taken their toll on the memory of his father, Simon was still able to clearly recall his father's signature weapon, mostly due to the fact that he had once been obsessed with it.

As a child, he had loved his father dearly, looking up to him as someone he sought to be like. He would discreetly follow him wherever he went, sometimes even to the Brotherhood Headquarters. He would copy his father's movements, trying to stand and walk like him.

In his mind's eye, he could still vaguely remember the day his father departed. He remembered that his father had come home in tears early that day. His mother had spent some time talking to him, about what he didn't know, for he was too busy playing with the same battle cross. Then he left for Dracula's Castle, never to return.

With his father's battle cross firmly in hand, he felt a sense of peace wash over him, as though a part of his father's spirit still resided within the weapon. He felt confident that he would be granted success in his mission and finally put an end to the evil that plagued the land.

"Alright, I think we're ready to continue on with our quest."

Simon turned back, expecting to find Alucard standing right behind him. It took him only a moment of searching to spot him looking at something in the shadows."

"What is it?" He asked. "Have you found something else?"

When Alucard failed to reply, Simon went over to see for himself what it was that had captured his attention.

Displayed in a high up alcove was a set of clothing; a long tattered green coat with gold detailing overtop of a bloodied white tunic and a pair of dark trousers. Next to the set of clothing sat a partial suit of armour; a pauldron, vambraces, gauntlets, cuisses, and finally a pair of boots.

"These clothes … I've seen them before," Alucard said in an almost whisper.

Simon had to agree that they did seem familiar, but he couldn't figure out how. He was just about to question why a set of clothing would be displayed in the same room as his father's old battle cross when the realization dawned on him.

He felt his blood run cold.

The clothes were familiar to him because they belonged to his father. Now that he was seeing them up again, he recalled that his father wore the exact same coat the day he left. With the shirt torn and bloody, especially around the chest area, it wasn't hard to figure out just how he died.

"What is this?" he asked no one in particular, his whole body shaking uncontrollably. "Some sort of twisted trophy room?!"

Backing away from the display, he kicked over the pedestal on which the battle cross had previously stood in a fit of rage. Hot, bitter tears threatened to surface, but he forced them back. He would not cry… He refused to… No longer was he a child mourning the loss of both his parents, but rather a fully grown man who had come to enact revenge. He wanted the Dark Lord's head on a stick now more than ever.

"Simon, watch out!" Alucard called out to him.

He caught the warning just in time to see a shadow pass over him, but it was too late.

Out of nowhere flew a strange creature, one that Simon had never seen before, snatching the battle cross from his hands. He resembled a mummy in the instance that he was wrapped in bandages, except for that of his head and his chest, revealing nothing but a skull and rib cage.

"Zobek, my master, desires this weapon," the creature laughed, taunting the red-headed warrior with it. "Your father was not worthy of carrying it..."

Simon clenched his fists. He didn't know who this creature was, or it's master for that matter, but he hated them nonetheless.

"And neither are you!"

Simon went in to lunge at the creature, but was knocked back as a blinding ray of bright green shot out of the it's hollow rib cage, hitting with such strength that it sent him flying backwards through the stained glass window behind him.

"SIMON!"

He felt thousands of shards of glass scrape against his skin as he flew through mid air, descending down to the courtyard below at dangerously high speed. Pulling his eyes tightly closed, he braced himself for the impact.

It came a few moments later. He landed on the hard stone floor with a loud thud. Pain shot through his body as he struggled back to his feet, but he ignored it, gritting his teeth and bearing it as the creature flew down after him.

With a wave of the creature's bandaged hand, the gates surrounding him were slammed shut, thus blocking his exit. Once he was done with that, he turned back to face Simon, lunging at him.

Grabbing his whip, he was ready to fight back and defend himself, but the creature stopped short, knocked back as the Lady Spirit he had encountered in the catacombs of the castle came out from hiding. He still didn't know who the lady was but she protected him regardless, shielding him with her own body.

"You hide behind a woman!" the creature spat at him. "You are as cowardly as your father was!"

With his crescent shaped staff, he grabbed the Lady Spirit by the neck, pulling her away from Simon and sucking her into the staff itself.

"No!" Simon cried out.

"Let's see how you fight without your little friend!"

Somehow he felt distraught at the loss of the Lady Spirit. Sure, she might be a ghost, but she was the closest he had to a mother figure in a long time. Since his own mother had died. The fact that this creature had just stolen her away from him angered him greatly.

And the battle was on…

Simon soon learned that this creature was something of a hypocrite, calling his opponent cowardly when it was himself that was the coward. For the creature kept conjuring monsters, skeletal warriors and zombies, to fight for him, floating above the battle as a mere spectator.

The monsters were dealt with easily enough, leaving the creature with no choice but to join the fight directly, throwing his staff to trip the red-headed warrior. Every time he fell, the creature would start laughing, angering Simon even further.

That's when Simon had an idea.

As the creature threw his staff once again, Simon waited until it was just inches away to reach out and grab it with his own two hands. Then, bringing his knee up, he broke the staff in two, tossing the halves of it off to the side.

"Let's see how you fight without this!"

Released from her prison, the Lady Spirit quickly returned to him, once again offering her body as a shield to him.

After this, Simon was finally able to take the upper hand in the battle. He attacked with full force, not letting even the pain he was in hold him back.

Eventually the creature got to the point where he was unable to fight back. Knelt on the ground, the creature created various magical barriers around him to keep Simon out as he regenerated. However, in his weakness, the creature had failed to notice a small gap in his defences. Simon, on the other hand, did notice this and took full advantage of it.

Once he was on the other side of the barriers, he pinned the creature down flat on it's back and proceeded to punch him repeatedly in the skull until he was knocked out. No sooner had the skull broken and the creature stilled, Simon pulled back and began to tear away at his bandages, digging until he found the stolen battle cross.

The creature beneath him turned to dust, blowing away with the wind.

Wincing with every haggard breath, Simon slowly got to his feet, slipping his father's old weapon into his belt alongside his whip. He took a moment to try to steady his breathing before glancing around. Seeing that the gates had reopened with the creature's demise, he started towards them but stopped as he remembered something.

His head jolted upward to see that every shard of glass from the window was gone, leaving a wide opening into the chamber, allowing rays of sunlight to stream inside.

"Damn it!"

With one hand clutching at his rib cage, he broke out into a run through the gate back into the castle, racing up the stairs as fast as he could to get back up to the chamber, swatting and kicking hunchbacks out of his way as he went.

"Alucard!" he called out to him. When he failed to hear any reply, he called out again. "Alucard, answer me!"

He cursed himself for not remembering his friend earlier. It was so easy to forget that Alucard was a vampire. He wasn't at all like the mutant bat-like vampires he had seen earlier. Unlike them, he had managed to retain a large portion of his humanity. He thought and spoke like a rational human being. It was almost as if he was a human trapped in the body of a vampire.

His eyes frantically began to search every inch of the room as soon as he arrived.

"No… No … This wasn't supposed to happen…" a familiar voice muttered.

"Alucard, is that you?" Simon asked, stepping further into the room. "Where are you? Are you okay?"

Hearing sounds of movement nearby, he searched the shadows, managing to make out his friend's tall figure in the darkened corner of the room. He started towards him, but the white-haired vampire held out a hand to stop him.

"Don't come any closer!" Alucard warned.

Simon stopped in his tracks, taking notice for the first time that his chest and shoulders, basically any and all bare skin, were crisscrossed with cuts from the window shards. He felt like smacking himself over the head. Of course Alucard was warning him to stay away. He was probably driving the vampire crazy with all the open cuts on his body.

"Oh… Sorry about that," he apologized, rubbing his neck as he backed away. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I thought you might have gotten caught up in the sunlight when I fell through the window."

"I'm fine. I got out of the way before it could burn me too badly."

"Good," Simon let out a breath of relief. "Now that we've found my father's battle cross, we should make haste to find Dracula."

When he heard no reply, he assumed that Alucard was in agreement and just started on his way back out of the room. Alucard didn't follow.

"Are you coming? The sooner we find him, the better."

"Do you truly believe that you can defeat the Prince of Darkness?"

Simon raised a brow at that. "What are you on about? Of course, I do. I've trained my whole life so that I could avenge the death of my father and that of my mother when the time came."

"Your father was one of the greatest brotherhood warriors that ever lived, and yet he could not defeat Dracula. The greatest dishonor you could do to him is if you were to meet the same fate!"

That's when it dawned on him. Alucard had gotten his memories back.

"Did you know my father?"

Alucard didn't reply at first, but this time, Simon was determined to stand there and wait. He wasn't going anywhere until he learned what Alucard knew of his father. By the way he spoke, it was clear that Alucard knew who his father was at the very least. He couldn't recall having ever told his friend that his father had been a warrior of the brotherhood, and yet he knew. Though, he couldn't figure out how this vampire could possibly know his father, seeing as his father had died thirty years ago and Alucard had just recently woken up.

"Answer me. Did you know my father?"

Instead of answering the question, Alucard did something that took him by surprise. He disappeared… His body vanished and in his place came a swarm of bats, rushing past him.

"I can see that you will not be persuaded. You truly are just as stubborn as him," Alucard's voice could be heard from within the swarm. "This I promise… You shall not stand alone against him."

"What do you mean?!" he called out.

He chased after the bats, but it was no use. The bats flew off, high into the scaffolding and out of sight. He was left standing there, left with a head full of questions. Who was Alucard? How did he know his father? Why did he leave? Who was the creature that had tried to steal his father's battle cross? And who was Zobek?

...

It all started when Alucard saw those clothes up on display. He was drawn to them right from the moment he entered the chamber. No sooner had he begun to examine them, then his mind was engulfed by a vision of a time long past; of a time that up until then he had forgotten. A time that he probably would have been better off if he never remembered.

Images of a gruesome battle flashed through his mind, a battle that had been fought in the exact same room in which he awoke.

_There were two men, both with dark hair, though one a bit shorter._

_One was human and dressed in the exact same clothes as those on the display before him. Trevor was his name. It came to him instinctively, as if he had always known it deep down._

_The other, however, was far from being human. With skin as pale as bleached bone and eyes glowing of crimson, it was clear to see that he was a vampire. Much like the previous, Alucard knew his name as well. It was Dracula. For he felt the same strange sense of fury wash over him at the sight of him as when he first heard the name spoken._

_The battle intensified, during which both men were airborne for a while and though Trevor fought with all his might to slay Dracula, fate was not on his side and in the end it was him that was slain instead._

_Trevor came crashing back down to earth like that of a meteor, a puddle of his own blood forming around him as he winced with pain. His own battle cross had been plunged into his chest._

_Just then, something caught Trevor's eye. The mirror that stood on the northernmost wall had begun to glow brightly._

_What he saw in the mirror made his eyes widen with shock. What the mirror showed him, and he imagined Trevor as well, were images of Dracula's life before he became a vampire._

_Gabriel Belmont was his name … His true name … Once a high-ranking warrior of the Brotherhood of Light, Gabriel fell into darkness after a life filled with nothing but pain and sorrow, having lost everything and everyone he ever loved. Manipulated into murdering his own wife without even knowing that he had done so._

_He did not become a vampire by choice, but out of necessity in order to save the world from the clutches of a rampaging demon._

_"I understand now … I understand everything," Trevor managed to find the strength to speak, though he sounded hoarse._

_The vampire, Dracula, appeared before Trevor in a puff of black smoke._

_"I have fought against my fate, even though it was in vain," Trevor continued. "But you… You accepted your fate… You were betrayed at every turn. Yet you still followed the path set out for you… Even when that betrayal included your own wife!"_

_Dracula raised a brow at the man in confusion, but allowed the dying man to continue on with his rambling._

_"Fate is cruel. In the end, I pity you … Father…"_

_Trevor's voice had grown so faint that human ears would not have even been able to hear him, but he was still somewhat audible with the heightened hearing of a vampire._

_"Father?"_

_Dracula looked at the dying man as if he had suddenly sprouted a second head, and Alucard felt just as confused._

_Trevor said nothing more, but managed to raise an arm and shakily point behind the vampire lord._

_Following the direction of Trevor's hand, Dracula finally noticed the glowing mirror. "What is this?" he asked._

_When he failed to get any response, Dracula went to the mirror to see for himself._

_The mirror did not show Dracula in his human form this time, but rather that of a beautiful young woman seated in bed with a newborn babe clutched to her chest. From what Alucard could see, the babe was crying, as was the woman._

_A group of men came into view, each wearing identical robes, surrounding the bed. One of them reached forward and took the child from the woman._

_"Please, I beg you to reconsider!" the woman cried. "Gabriel would never hurt the boy!"_

_"I'm sorry, Marie, but we must protect the child from his father," came the reply of the eldest man. He looked back at the woman but briefly before turning and leaving the view of the mirror._

_"Damn you!" Dracula roared as he witnessed the scene unfold. "Why?!"_

_The image soon faded from view and with it came the realization of what was unfolding._

_Turning away from the mirror, Dracula's face twisted with horror to find that the dying man, whom he now knew as his son, had taken his last breath. His body was cold and still, his heart beating no more._

_"No!"_

_Transforming into mist once more, Dracula reappeared a moment later, kneeling at Trevor's side. With a gentleness that was unexpected of the fearsome prince of darkness, he lifted his son, pulling him closer so that he was resting on his lap._

_In one swift movement, the combat cross was removed from Trevor's chest, discarded off to the side._

_"Live!"_

_Alucard couldn't tear his eyes from that of the father and son, watching as the vampire father bit into his own wrist before lowering it over his son's open mouth, letting the blood pour in._

_Minutes passed but nothing happened._

_Dracula then did something that truly shocked Alucard._

_Believing that it was too late, that his son was truly dead, the mighty Dracula buried his face into his son's hair, screaming and crying hysterically._

_"Live, my son … my son …"_

By the time the vision finally passed, Alucard too had tears in his eyes.

He understood... He remembered who he was … or rather who he had been …

His name was Trevor Belmont, the name given to him at birth, but his name was also Alucard, the name given to him by his father upon his _'death'_.

He was the son of Dracula; the very man he had been taught to hate at the hands of the Brotherhood of Light and sent to kill.

And Simon … His own son … He too had been led to the cursed castle, not by the Brotherhood of Light, but by the small mirror that Trevor himself had given to him as a child.

If only he had known then what the mirror truly was capable of. For it seemed that all three generations of Belmont's had been manipulated by fate.

By the time Simon charged back into the room after his battle with the Necromancer, Alucard's mind was swirling out of control as he struggled to process everything that had happened … everything that he had just discovered about his past.

He didn't want to leave his son, not now, not after all the years that had passed. He wanted to take Simon in his arms, tell him who he was and give him a hug. Alas, he knew that was not possible for him.

Simon could never know what had become of his father, how he had become a creature of the night who thirsted for human blood. He would be far better off if he would just leave the castle and never return.

Unfortunately, he soon realized that Simon was much too stubborn for his own good, a trait his son had inherited from him.

Alucard made his decision. He could not walk alongside his son, but he would watch over him from the shadows, helping him as he went. He would make sure that Simon did not end up like him ...


	3. Chapter 3

Having a proper battle cross proved useful, as Simon quickly discovered. It allowed him to climb higher, reaching places he hadn't had access to before, as well as swing across entire rooms without ever touching the floor. It was a nice addition to have.

Despite this, he felt miserable.

He wouldn't admit it outloud, but deep down he missed his vampire friend. It was nice having someone to watch his back. Someone to stand alongside him, fighting as his equal. Although, he supposed that he couldn't quite consider Alucard as his complete equal. Alucard was a vampire with abilities that far surpassed his own.

Still, it was nice to at least have someone to actually talk to rather than just talking to himself or the Lost Soul that had reappeared shortly after Alucard's departure.

Simon continued on with his request regardless, fighting all manner of strange beasts along the way. He fought magical floating books that conjured monster's in the castle's library, and found himself face to face with the creatures responsible for his mother's death; the lycans. Needless to say, he enjoyed taking his anger out on them.

Somehow he ended up in some sort of workshop. Inside there were all sorts of different metal contraptions, most of which resembled that of children's toys, only on a much larger scale. The faces had been painted to make them look disturbing, as if they would come alive at any moment and swallow someone whole.

Simon kept an eye on the freakish toys as he passed, not trusting them, or much of anything else in this castle for that matter.

As he got further in, he found yet another strange contraption. In the center was a tall round pillar and attached to it were many long poles featuring the heads of different monsters at each end. Approaching it, he eyed it with curiosity, wondering what it was for.

Unfortunately, he was soon to find out, for soon enough the floor began to move underneath his feet and with it the poles.

He found himself trapped in an obstacle course, electric beams blocking his escape, forcing him to run, jump and duck just to avoid being hit by the poles that moved up and down at random.

It was physically brutal, even for someone like Simon who had trained his whole life, building up as much strength and endurance as he could. By the time it started to slow down, Simon desperately needed to catch his breath.

That was when he noticed something moving below him.

Crouching down to peer down through the grated floor, he saw strange mechanisms, which he assumed were operating the obstacle course. It was dark down there, so he wasn't entirely sure, but he swore he saw a figure moving the mechanisms around.

He didn't have time to see any more, as the hellish obstacle course started to move again, this time in the opposite direction.

With a groan, Simon got up and resumed dodging the poles.

Eventually he grew weary and tired from the exertion, and ended up getting hit a couple times, knocking him flat on his back. He didn't bother to get up, knowing that he would just get knocked down again, and instead watched as the poles spun around above his head, making him feel dizzy in the process.

Finally it came to a screeching halt. Simon waited a few minutes to see if it would start up again. The electric beams soon fell, signalling that it was indeed over. It was safe for him to get up.

"Thank God!" Simon exclaimed, a sense of relief washing over him. "Whoever created that thing had to be out of his mind."

"It was the toymaker; one of Dracula's servants," came a voice that he had quickly become familiar with.

A few moments later, a swarm of bats came flying through the grating, gathering at the base of the contraption as they began to take the form of the white-haired vampire.

"He created this as a trap, along with many others, for those who dared to intrude upon his master's castle," Alucard explained.

"It was you," Simon realized. "You were the one working the mechanisms. You helped me."

Alucard merely nodded.

"Why? Does it involve my father?" Simon tried yet again to get the vampire to open up. "And don't lie to me. It's clear that you knew him."

Alucard didn't reply, but rather stared at him with an intensity that gave him goosebumps. The vampire could definitely be intimidating when he wanted to.

"Let's just say that I vowed to make sure no one else would suffer as he did…" came his cryptic reply.

This wasn't enough for Simon. The vampire had just admitted that he possessed knowledge of how his father had died, yet he was unwilling to share anything more. It was infuriating. It wasn't as if he was some child who couldn't handle the truth. He expected it to be a gruesome tale, but he felt that he needed to hear exactly what happened in order to find closure.

"I don't suppose you have changed your mind about facing the Prince of Darkness?"

"Not a chance," Simon insisted. "I told you, I must avenge my parents."

Something changed within Alucard in that moment. His previously intense expression softened and his shoulders seemed to drop slightly.

"How did your mother die?"

The question caught Simon off guard. Why would he want to know how his mother had died? Why should he answer this question when the vampire didn't answer any of his own.

Regardless, he felt as though he had no choice. He wasn't sure if this was Alucard's doing, using his powers to force the information out of him, or if it was the haunted look about the vampire's face.

With a sigh, Simon began to retell his story. "My father came to this castle many years ago when I was but a child. He came to destroy the evil that lives here. He never returned."

There was a brief pause as he reflected on what he could still remember of that fateful day.

"He must have greatly angered the Dark Lord, for soon after, Dracula attacked the Brotherhood Stronghold with his legions. None survived. My mother was killed trying to keep me safe."

Alucard closed his eyes, as if on the verge of tears. "I am so sorry…"

Simon raised a brow. Sorry? Why was he so sorry? It wasn't as if he was the one to blame. No, that was Dracula.

"For what are you sorry?" he asked. "Who are you?"

The vampire just shook his head and retook the form of a swarm of bats.

"Wait!"

Simon called after him to stay, but it was no use.

He couldn't figure Alucard out. We're all vampires this vague? One moment he was helping him, claiming that he too wanted to destroy Dracula and then the next he was trying to persuade him against doing so.

Turning, Simon found the Lost Soul floating behind him, as if he only appeared when Alucard was gone. He didn't understand that either.

"Who is he?" Simon asked the specter-like creature, pulling the mirror shard from around his neck. "Show me! With this! Now!"

The Lost Soul made no attempt to move, nor did the mirror glow as it had before when he was shown his father's battle cross.

This frustrated him even further.

"You stupid creature!"

Simon raised his fist to punch the creature, but the Lost Soul caught his arm before he could deliver the blow.

Then he too left.

"Why won't anyone answer me?!"

...

Alucard had to get away. He couldn't let Simon see him in such a state of sorrow. As any father, he hated the thought of having his own son see him cry. It was worse in his case, as not only was he a vampire whose eyes could only produce tears of blood, but it also raised too many questions … questions that he could not bear to answer.

And so Alucard fled from the toymaker's obstacle course and up into one of the old man's many workshops, taking a moment to make sure it was deserted before transforming back.

Only then did he allow himself to let it all out.

It was all his fault. He knew it to be true. Simon had come to the castle because of him, or rather because of the mirror he had so ignorantly gifted him before he left. If only he had known then what he knew now, both in regards to the mirror as well as the truth behind his father's past.

The more he considered it, the more he realized that it was not in fact his fault, at least not entirely, but rather it was the fault of the Brotherhood.

He knew now that the Brotherhood of Light had betrayed him, leading him down a path that would lead to ruin for him and his true family. It was because of them that his father had become the monster that he was, and it was because of them that he had died at the hand of his father, only to be turned as an act of desperation to save him.

And yet he found that he didn't hate them, at least not as his father did. Despite everything, he could not forget about the love he had felt towards the company of men that had served as the only family he had ever known for many years.

While he did understand his father's rage towards them, he could not bring himself to think them entirely evil. He realized that there were probably many men who, much like him, grew up in their care, following them blindly as any obedient child would, never knowing that they were being deceived. If anything, he felt sorry for them.

Just then, he sensed another presence.

Pulling out his combat cross, he assumed battle stance. "Show yourself!"

Gears began to turn on the strange device before him, yet another invention of the toy maker. Soon enough a creature began to emerge, rising from the device's center.

The creature was monstrous looking in every aspect imaginable. With a head that resembled that of a lion with green fur, multi colored wings sticking out of his back, legs of bleached bones and a tail to match, it was hard to figure out exactly what he was supposed to be.

"Look at what you have become," the creature chuckled as he crawled off the device and towards him "Do you even remember me?"

It took Alucard a few moments, but eventually he did recall.

His eyes widened, for he hardly recognized him. "You're the Daemon Lord I destroyed when I first came to the castle!"

"That's right," said the Daemon Lord. "And now, thanks to the toymaker, I can return the favor!"

And just like that, the battle was on.

The Daemon Lord was stronger than he remembered, with powers that he never had before. One such example was the fact that he could now shoot lasers out of his tail.

However, the Daemon Lord wasn't the only one who had become more powerful. Although he wasn't as proud about it as his opponent seemed to be, he too had been remade, in his case, into that of an immortal vampire.

"I've been looking forward to the moment when I would crush you into dust," the Daemon Lord taunted. "And once I'm done with you, I'll do the same to that foolish son of yours."

Alucard growled.

The brotherhood's crimes against him did not evoke his anger, but hearing the threat made against his son filled him with a rage that threatened to consume him.

"You leave Simon alone!"

The Daemon Lord only chuckled as he climbed back onto the device, taking the controls.

Alucard soon discovered that the device, much like his tail, shot out laser beams, only two of them, one from each side of the machine. It was quite a long process, trying to destroy the laser emitters all the while dodging all the lasers, but he found a way to dodge them easily enough with help from his combat cross and the conveyor belt attached to the ceiling.

"Let's be done with this then!" roared the Daemon Lord as he flew from his station and scooped up the vampire in his skeletal claw.

Returning to one of the electric charging stations, the Daemon Lord got a good laugh as he electrocuted his prey.

It was hard for Alucard not to scream out in pain as a jolt of electricity pierced through his body, shaking him intensely, but he bore through it and managed to free himself with a bit of effort. There was one flaw with having bones for hands, and that was that they were slippery.

In the end, he managed to knock him back into the hole he had come from. Unfortunately, the Daemon Lord managed to grab hold of his leg, hauling the vampire down with him.

They fell for a long time without any end in sight. Alucard did briefly wonder where it led to, but had little desire to find out for himself.

Severing the leg that had a hold of him, he lunged at the Daemon Lord, sinking his fangs into what little remained of his actual flesh, consuming every last drop of blood in his mutated body, and with it, the creature's powers.

When he was certain that the Daemon Lord was drained and powerless, he let go, discovering that he had sprouted a pair of demonic bloodstained wings, allowing him to fly up out of the never-ending pit and back out. No sooner had he landed safely on the floor above, then the device exploded, crumbling in on itself and blocking the pit's entrance.

He felt no pity nor mercy at the demise of the creature, but rather he saw it as one less monster to worry about … One less creature to protect his son from …

With that in mind, he flew out of the workshop to go find Simon again. Something told him that he was going to need more help.


	4. Chapter 4

Many times over the course of the last thirty years had Simon envisioned what Dracula's throne room would be like. In his mind, he always imagined the Lord of Vampires seated on a throne made up of the bones of his enemies, drinking their blood from a skull.

As he once again found himself crashing through a stained glass window, this time of his own will, he found himself in a room that was far from the gloomy throne room he had expected. In fact, it wasn't even a throne room at all.

His jaw fell as he took in the sight.

He was in a room, closed in by a wall of tall columns and an open ceiling. There was no sun in the sky, nor was there a moon, only a pinkish-orange fog hanging in the air. There was a pool in the center, with fountains and lush greenery dangling from the surrounding columns.

Then he saw them. Lounging around the side of the pool were a group of scantily dressed women, their breasts just barely covered. Simon couldn't help but stare at them, feeling himself grow oddly thirsty.

"Simon," he heard the women call out to him. Somehow they knew his name. "Come, Simon."

The sound of their voices was sweet, like music to Simon's ears. His legs moved as if by their own accord, taking him towards the pool.

He could sense a great power, not coming from the women as a whole, but coming from the one at the heart of them. She is their leader … She is their queen …

She was the most beautiful of them all, yet at the same time she was the most bizarre of them all. Her face was pleasing to the eye, her body curvy and attractive. Yet, sitting on top of her head, sticking straight out of her long magenta hair we're a pair of … Horns? Tentacles? He wasn't quite sure what they were. And then there were a pair of bat-like wings protruding from her back. Whatever she was, it was clear she wasn't entirely human.

"Welcome warrior, we've been waiting for you," the queen greets him. "You have travelled so far … You must be weary."

That much was true. He would be lying if he denied it. Fighting his way through this castle had taken its toll on him. Even after the brief nap he had taken during the daylight hours, he still felt as though he could sleep for days on end. Unfortunately, there weren't many places to rest in the castle of chaos.

"Come, stay with us. You will find our hospitality most … pleasant," the queen offered him.

Crawling forward on their hands and knees, the women began to close in around him. The queen was the first to reach him, stroking her soft fingers along his cheek with one hand as she trailed the other down his chest. Before he knew it, there were hands all over his body, clutching at his arms and legs, dragging him with them to the harem bed that they had been previously lounging on.

Flat on his back, Simon couldn't help but let out a sigh of contentment at the softness of the mattress beneath him. He couldn't remember the last time he had felt so comfortable.

The queen soon climbed on top of him, straddling his hips as her fingers pried the belt from his waist, casting it off to the side.

"I want you to feel this. Let us show you how good you can feel…"

One by one the other women joined their queen, stripping him of every piece of armor on his body. By the time they were done, all that remained was his trousers, and the only reason they still remained was because the queen was sitting on top of him, preventing the others from ripping them off.

A feeling of ecstasy washed over him as the women hungrily kissed every inch of his skin, their moans ringing through his ears.

Deep down, he knew he should be fighting them, fearing that this too was a trap, but he couldn't seem to find the will to do it. His mind was in a haze, unable to take his focus on anything but the pleasure he was experiencing.

"Close your eyes and enjoy, my sweet," whispered the queen. "You are in good hands."

He obeyed without thought, and as he did so, a pair of moist lips pressed against his own, assumably the queen's, her tongue trying to break past the barrier inside.

However, no sooner had he granted her entrance, then he felt himself grow weaker. It was as if his very life force was being sucked from his body. This succeeded in snapping him from his euphoric trance, bringing him back to the reality of his situation.

This beautiful yet demonic woman was a creature that he had heard tales of but never seen before; a succubus.

As desperation set in, Simon began to fight back, kicking and clawing away at those who held him down. It was difficult in his weakening state, but he managed to gather every ounce of strength that was still within him and push her back. Her body fell back, colliding against the hard ground.

"Ugh!" the succubus groaned with pain.

Untangling himself from the other women, he made a run for it, quickly locating and retrieving his battle cross from the pile of armor that had been thrown aside.

By that time, the queen was back up on her feet. "Don't you like how I kiss, Simon?" she taunted him as she broke out into laughter.

Flying high up into the sky, she began to fire down at him with blasts of magic, and once again Simon found himself running and dodging attacks. He was getting terribly sick of it, but it seemed that no one in this castle would grant him any mercy.

Well … There was one person, but Simon hadn't seen him in some time. Not since the toymaker's obstacle course.

"You will regret rejecting me!"

In an attempt to fool him, the succubus created two clones of herself, casting a magical barrier around each of them. Through trial and error, he managed to figure out which one was the real one, eventually breaking through the barrier with the combat cross' grappling hook, grabbing the succubus and pulling her back down to the ground.

The succubus came crashing down hard, face scraping into the rock.

Simon retained battle stance as he waited for the succubus to get up and resume attacking him. That was not the case.

Scrambling to her knees, she lifted her head up to the sky, folding her hands as she spoke. "I am sorry that I have failed you, my lord!"

Slowly he approached her, but she did not move. She just knelt there, her head hung in shame. It was as if she had just given up. Perhaps she knew that she was going to die either way? If not at Simon's hands then those of her lord.

A piercing scream filled the air as the final blow was struck. The succubus slumped lifelessly to the ground.

Retracting his battle cross from the succubus' fallen body, he turned around and went back for his armor.

The other women tried to approach him, but one glare from Simon was enough to discourage them.

"Don't even try!" Simon barked.

With his armor back in place and the succubus defeated, he was left to question where he was supposed to go next. He had reached the furthest point in the castle, thinking that Dracula would be there to meet him, but the vampire lord was clearly nowhere to be seen. All he had found was his harem.

"I've had enough of this, you crazy old man!" he yelled out, hoping that Dracula would hear him, wherever he was. "Come out and face me!"

No sooner had those words left his lips, then things began to change. The room began to shake as the tropical paradise of the harem gave way, transforming into a dark sanctuary. Gone was the warmth that had flooded the harem, and in its place now stood an unearthly chill.

Goosebumps running down his spine, he turned and found exactly who he had been looking for.

Seated at the far end of the room on the throne of a king, surrounded by statues of dragons, was what he could only assume to be the vampire lord himself; Dracula.

"You fight well…" The shadowed vampire complimented him. "Worthy of the name Belmont."

...

The tower leading to Dracula's Lair was swarming with elite vampire guards, tasked with protecting the blood orbs that opened the way. They hid them well, making it difficult for Alucard to find them.

With gritted teeth he searched the den of vampires. At one point he stumbled across the dining room, where he found half dead women spread across the table. He was filled with disgust as he saw them there, bite marks spread all over their bodies.

Alucard couldn't help but imagine his wife in place of the women, her long red hair splayed out on the table beneath her head, her body torn to shreds by those who feasted on her. He imagined that she must have met her end in a similar manner.

Tears threatened to rise again, but Alucard pushed them back along with the horrifying mental image he had just produced. He didn't have time to mourn and beat himself up over how he failed to save her. He needed to focus on the task at hand.

Eventually, he managed to find one of the orbs sitting on a tall pedestal, but the second one wasn't so easy to find. He found the second pedestal, but it was empty, no sign of the orb to be found.

With a sigh, he retraced his steps through the castle in search of it.

Hidden away in one of the dark crevices of the kitchen, he found a dead, or rather he assumed to be dead, hunchback, hugging the blood orb tightly in its claws.

"Stupid creatures…" Alucard shook his head. "Always causing trouble."

For such a small creature, it sure had a lot of strength to it. Alucard pulled and pulled before he finally broke the orb free, breaking off the hunchback's arms in the process. The severed arms were promptly cast off to the side.

With both blood orbs in his possession, he made haste in returning to the top of Dracula's tower.

He could still sense Simon's presence inside by the time he got back, but this time he sensed another presence, one that he recognized… It was Dracula… There was no doubt about it. The power he sensed from the other side of the door was raw and powerful. It was almost stifling.

Gently setting the orbs into their slots, Alucard watched as the blood slowly began to trickle out and make its way through the channels of the door, joining together in the middle to form a heart; the dragon's heart.

Taking a deep yet unnecessary breath, he pushed open the door and stepped inside. He found, much to his relief, that the warrior and vampire lord had yet to engage in actual battle.

Dracula was the first to notice him.

"Good of you to join us, Alucard," the powerful vampire greeted him.

He had wondered if his father would be surprised to see him, but it was now clear that he was not.

Alucard cast a brief glance at Simon, noticing that he had turned towards him, but soon averted his gaze to that of Dracula.

"Father…" he greeted back.

He honestly didn't know what to say. Thirty years had passed since the father and son had last seen each other, according to what Simon had told him, and the two hadn't left off on the greatest of terms.

Flashes of memories filled his brain. Thanks to his vampiric powers, the memories were clearer than ever before, allowing him to remember even the tiniest of details. Dying at his father's hand… Witnessing the tragedy of his father's life in the Mirror of Fate… and lastly, he remembered hearing the hysterical crying of his father as he held him in his arms, hugging him close…

To say that he was at a loss was an understatement.

" _Father?!_ " Simon echoed, his eyes widened in a mix of shock and horror. "You mean to say that Dracula is your father? As in..." he trailed off.

Alucard nodded. "I am his son, born of his flesh and blood."

Simon faltered backwards, evidently disturbed by this.

Alucard had hoped to keep such information from Simon, but it seemed that some things couldn't be helped.

"Indeed he is," Dracula affirmed. "It's been a long time since I've seen him though. He let me think him dead for thirty long years."

Could it possibly be that his father was angry with him, believing that he had purposefully remained inside that coffin for so many years? It seemed highly unlikely, especially from the fearsome dragon, but it was the only explanation that came to mind.

"That is because I was dead," he explained. "I only just awoke when Simon stumbled upon my tomb, and even then, I did not remember who I was or how I had come to be placed there."

"And now that you have regained your memory, I take it you have come to finish what you started," the elder vampire assumed, averting his gaze.

Alucard hesitated.

He wasn't sure how to reply to that. Was that what he wanted? Was it still his desire to put an end to the Prince of Darkness? A lot had changed since that fateful night he came charging through the castle doors, ignorant to the truth. He would admit, he still wanted to put an end to all the killings. He understood his reasoning, but couldn't entirely condone it.

Knowing what he did of his father's tragic past and how he had mourned the death of his only son, he felt that he wouldn't have the heart to go through with it.

His last words to his father before he died came to mind. _"In the end… I pity you…"_

The hatred he had once held in his heart towards Dracula was gone, replaced by a feeling of sorrow and pity.

With that in mind, he made his decision.

"No, I have not come to end you, Father."

Dracula's expression changed rapidly.

"What?!" Simon and Dracula said in unison, both now with widened eyes and jaws hanging open.

Alucard could have laughed at how amusingly similar their faces were. Even though one was a vampire and one had a full beard, he could still see a family resemblance.

"Actually, I came to make sure that this one doesn't do anything too rash," he pointed to Simon. "The last thing we need is for history to repeat itself."

Dracula immediately understood what his son meant.

"What are you talking about? Does this have to do with my father?" Simon asked. "You mentioned earlier that you knew of his fate."

Dracula glanced between the two, a dark brow raised in question. "You haven't told him?"

Alucard shook his head. "He's better off not knowing."

This reply angered the elder vampire.

"Is that so? Tell me, Alucard, do you think I was better off not knowing that I had a son I never knew about?"

Alucard bit his lip, something that should have hurt quite a lot, especially considering how this caused his fang to pierce through his lip, drawing blood as a result. His tongue quickly slid out and caught the blood before it could dribble down his chin.

His father did make a good point. The truth had been kept from both of them for many years, causing nothing but pain and misery. He had been trying to protect Simon by keeping the truth from him, but in reality history was already starting to repeat itself.

With a sigh, he turned towards the red haired warrior, struggling to figure out how to tell him.

"Are you finally going to tell me who you are?" Simon asked, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

Alucard nodded, and after a few more moments, he finally gathered the courage to do so.

"Alucard was the name given to me by my father upon my death. However, I was given a different name at birth… a human name."

"And that is?" Simon pressed on.

"My real name is Trevor … Trevor Belmont…"


	5. Chapter 5

"My real name is Trevor … Trevor Belmont…"

Whatever Simon had been expecting the white-haired vampire to say, it certainly wasn't that.

At the sound of that name, Simon felt his body go numb, an unnatural chill enveloping him. In such a state, he didn't even notice the battle cross slip from his hand, falling to the floor with a loud clang.

He knew that name. He knew it all too well. For that had been the name of his father, the very same father who had failed to return from Dracula's Castle thirty years ago.

His brown eyes widened as it dawned on him. Thirty years. Alucard had mentioned that he had been dead for thirty years ...

"No, it cannot be…" Simon muttered, faltering back a step.

Alucard didn't say a word. He just stood there looking at him with regret in his glowing eyes.

Simon's mind was at war with itself, trying to figure out whether what he said was true or not, trying to think back on all that had happened since he found Alucard's tomb.

From the very beginning, he found the vampire to be somehow familiar, and the vampire had hinted at the same. He had felt a strange bond between them, which could be easily explained if what he said was true.

The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. His memories came back to him when he saw the clothes up on display ... his father's clothes … From then on, Alucard had tried to persuade him to forget his revenge and leave the castle, protecting him from Dracula's servants whenever he could.

Just as a loving father would ...

_"Your father was one of the greatest brotherhood warriors that ever lived, and yet he could not defeat Dracula. The greatest dishonor you could do to him is if you were to meet the same fate!"_

"No!" Simon yelled.

He understood what Alucard meant now, having grasped the basics of what had happened between Dracula and his son. Alucard, or Trevor, he wasn't sure what to call him at this point, must have died, and Dracula attempted to turn him. He buried his son in a beautifully crafted sarcophagus, believing it to be too late. Alucard woke up thirty years later as a vampire, without his memories.

_"The last thing we need is for history to repeat itself."_

Not only had Alucard been trying to protect him from the monsters of the castle, but from becoming like him.

Though he knew this deep down, the stubborn streak in him would not allow him to accept it so easily.

"You can't be who you claim to be," he insisted. "There's no way."

Dracula, who had up until now, stood off to the sidelines, letting the two men sort things out for themselves, suddenly bound forward, reaching out and snatching the mirror shard from around Simon's neck.

"Give that back!"

Simon reached out to retake it, but Dracula would not let him.

"Where did you get this?" the elder vampire asked.

"It was a gift from my father," Simon explained through gritted teeth. "He gave it to me before he left."

Dracula then turned to his son, silently prompting him to elaborate.

"The brotherhood gave it to me when they took me from my mother's arms. I gave it to him not knowing its true power," came the response.

Anger flickered across the elder vampire's features at the reminder, but he did not act upon it.

"Well then, if you won't believe my son's words, perhaps it will help if you see for yourself."

The mirror shard began to glow as Dracul held it up for Simon to see.

Images flashed quickly through the mirror, but still Simon was able to see them well enough. He saw memories of not only his father's fate but of Dracula's as well. By the time the images had faded and the mirror had stopped glowing, Simon had slumped to the floor.

What he saw was more than enough to convince Simon. Everything else he had seen in the mirror had proven true, he saw no reason for this time to be any different.

Lifting his head, he reluctantly met Alucard's gaze. Now that he knew who he was, he could see the resemblance. Even though the transformation had changed his appearance, his build and features had remained the same.

"Papa? Is that really you?"

"It is me, Simon," Alucard nodded, as he closed the distance between them in two steps, crouching down before him. "I'm sorry I could not be there to protect you and your mother."

That was all Simon needed to hear. Reaching out, he grabbed his father and hugged him tightly, his face buried in his father's hair. He felt as though he was finally where he belonged, as if he had been lost for so many years, wandering the world alone and had only now come home.

"I missed you, Papa…" Simon mumbled, trying to fight the tears that threatened to come. "I thought I was all alone in this world."

Alucard returned the embrace, taking comfort in the long forgotten sense of warmth that came with it. "Never again, Simon. Not as long as we both walk this earth."

The two clung to each other for quite some time, neither quite willing to let the other go right away. Eventually they remembered that the elder vampire was still present, watching the exchange awkwardly from no more than four feet away, and helped each other to their feet.

"So, what happens next?" Simon asked. "I came here to kill Dracula, but I'm not sure if I'm prepared to kill my own, uh … Grandfather."

The word didn't sound right when it came to addressing the fearsome vampire lord. It was gonna take some time before he got used to that.

"I admit, I'm not sure of that myself. Sypha is gone, as is our home. It would seem that neither of us have much to return to."

They pondered on the issue in silence for a few moments, neither able to come up with any ideas.

"You may remain in the castle if you so wish it," Dracula offered. "The brotherhood will no doubt attempt to hunt you down because of your link to me. I would rather have you here where I can see to it that you are safe."

Simon didn't know what to make of this offer. Stay and live in the very castle he had just fought his way through? The same castle that had thrown all that it could at him in hopes of killing him? The mere thought of dodging more traps and battling more monsters made him feel even more tired than he already was.

"You needn't worry about my servants. Now that I know you don't wish to kill me, I can easily order them to leave you alone."

Simon blinked in surprise. It was almost as if Dracula had read his mind. And now that he thought of it, he recalled thinking the same thing of Alucard. Were vampires able to actually read minds, or was he just that easy to read?

"I would be willing to take the offer, if you were to promise to call off your revenge against mankind as well."

"Son, I can't just-" Dracula started to protest only to be cut off.

"I understand that you must protect yourself, father, and have no objection towards you doing so, but that does not justify the slaughter of entire villages," Alucard argued. "Mankind as a whole is not evil. There are still those who are good, those who do not deserve to suffer under your wrath."

Simon waited for him to answer, wondering what he would choose. He could see that the elder vampire was conflicted. This was a decision to test which was truly more important to him; family or vengeance.

The moments seemed to drag on forever until Dracula finally made his choice.

"Very well, I give you my word that I will restrain my wrath, only unleashing it on those who dare to threaten us."

"Thank you, father," Alucard gave the elder vampire a smile.

With that sorted, the two vampires turned to look at the human.

"Eh, I may as well accept," Simon said with a shrug. "But I'm gonna need a bed. You're not gonna catch me sleeping in a sarcophagus."

The two vampires chuckled at that.

"Of course, there are many bedrooms in the castle for you to choose from."

Simon still wasn't entirely sure if he was making the right choice, but he figured that he could give Dracula the benefit of the doubt. Alucard seemed to believe him, and that was good enough for him. After all, Alucard was basically the reason he was agreeing. Now that he had been reunited with his father, he wasn't about to leave him anytime soon.

...

"GAAAHH!"

Alucard awoke with a start, bolting upright in bed and looking around for the source of the noise. When he failed to see anything, he let his guard down and was about to go back to sleep when he heard a familiar voice.

"Go to hell, you vile bloodsucker!"

There was no doubt in his mind that it was Simon. He knew his son's voice better than almost anyone else. Besides, his son was the only one in the castle to use such crude language. He had no idea where Simon had picked that up from. Certainly not his mother.

Leaping from his bed, he quickly slipped his coat on and grabbed his combat cross before rushing from the room.

The father and son had selected bedrooms next to each other, not trusting the castle and its inhabitants to be too far apart.

And for good reason as it would seem.

When Alucard burst into the room, he found Simon standing up on his bed, butt-naked with his weapon raised and pointed at one of Dracula's elite vampire guards.

"What on earth is going on here?!" Alucard exclaimed.

"That thing tried to bite me in my sleep!" Simon accused.

But the vampire guard just shook his head with a sigh. "I was doing nothing of the sort," he defended. "I only came to wake him up. The Prince asked me to collect his son and grandson for a family breakfast."

Alucard lowered his weapon. "You may tell him that we will be along shortly."

"As you wish, Lord Alucard."

The vampire guard gave a quick bow to both the men before floating out of the room.

As soon as he was gone, Alucard turned back to Simon, noticing that his face had turned unnaturally red.

"Are you alright there, Simon?"

"Can you maybe… I don't know… avert your eyes until I find my trousers?" He requested, grabbing the blanket from his bed and using it to cover his … male bits.

"Why should I? It's nothing I haven't seen before," he pointed out. "Need I remind you that I used to change your diapers."

"Father!"

Alucard couldn't help but chuckle at that. He was tempted to remind him of a certain incident involving horse manure, but chose against it.

"Alright, I'll not embarrass you any further," he complied.

He kept his eyes trained on the door as he waited for Simon to get dressed, listening to the sounds of shuffling and clothes ruffling. It was only once his son's movement had ceased that he turned back.

"Are you ready?"

Simon nodded his head in reply as he started towards the door, avoiding eye contact with his father.

The two started down the hall in search of the dining room. Alucard was able to recall where it was from memory, leading them in the right direction. Although, he couldn't say that was necessarily a good thing. Images of the drained bodies of women scattered along the tables came to mind. He was filled with dread at the thought of encountering them again. Would his father expect him to drink from one of those bodies?

He wasn't sure if it would be heard now that he was a vampire, but still he prayed that it wouldn't be so.

When they entered the dining room, they found that the room had been tidied up, much to Alucard's relief. The tables had been wiped, cleared of drained bodies, and placed back into their original formation. There weren't even any bloodstains on the carpet to be found. All in all, they were both rather impressed.

"I'm pleased to see that you could join me."

Seated at the end of the head table was none other than Dracula, his head leaning on his hand as he motioned them over to him.

"Come, take a seat. I imagine you must be hungry."

Feeling optimistic from the state of the room, the father and son complied with the elder vampire's request without delay, sitting down on either side of him. No sooner were they seated, then Dracula reached out and rang a bell, signalling the servants to bring in the food.

For Simon there was a roasted boar, along with pottages, fruit, cheese, and even some tarts for dessert. The sight made his mouth water. All of a sudden the thought of living in the castle didn't seem so bad. He dove into the food as if it was the first he had ever seen, grabbing some of everything.

Dracula chuckled with amusement at his grandson's hearty appetite.

Alucard, on the other hand, was occupied elsewhere as the scent of fresh blood filled the air.

A skeleton butler came forward with a tray full of goblets, each filled to the rim with blood. "What shall it be, Milords?" the skeleton asked. "I have many flavours to choose from."

"I'll just have my usual," Dracula replied, reaching out to take a goblet of what seemed to be human blood.

Alucard sniffed the goblets to determine which was which. A few of them were clearly human, but there were also a couple that belonged to monsters.

"I'll take the warg blood," Alucard said at last.

The skeleton butler placed the requested goblet before him, bowed and then took his leave.

Alucard could only stare at the thick red substance contained within the goblet for the first while. It wasn't that he was opposed to drinking it, for he had sampled the wargs of the castle before, but rather it was the thought of drinking it in front of Simon that he opposed.

Glancing over at the man across from him, he noticed that his son wasn't exactly paying attention at the moment, far too engrossed in his own food.

After a moment, he finally gave in, raising the goblet to his lips and tipping it back. The blood trickled down his throat and through his body, bringing him a bit of warmth and nourishment. It didn't taste too bad either, not like the blood of those hunchbacks. He flinched at the mere memory. Never again would he drink from them.

Once they were all finished eating, the servants returned to clean up, loading up all the dirty dishes and taking them away.

"Whew! I'm plump full!" Simon declared, patting his newly-filled belly. "I haven't eaten that well since I was a child."

"Yes, I recall your mother was an excellent cook," Alucard agreed.

"Tell me about this wife of yours, son," Dracula requested. "I'd like to hear about the woman who would have been my daughter-in-law."

Alucard had to admit that he was taken back by this. He hadn't expected his father to take such an interest in his life. At the same time, he was saddened by the reminder that she was no longer with him. He couldn't help but wonder what she would have thought of him now. Would she have accepted him as Simon seemed to? That, he feared, he would never know.

"Sypha and I met as children. Her family was killed by rogues while travelling. She alone escaped. The Brotherhood found her out in the woods and brought her back to live at the monastery," he began. "We soon became the best of friends, bonding over the fact that we were both orphans, and eventually fell in love as we got older."

Dracula frowned at the thought of his son growing up as an orphan, doubtlessly remembering his own upbringing, but motioned for him to continue regardless.

"Sypha was the most amazing woman I've ever known. Her traumatic early years made her incredibly strong and brave, yet never was she bitter. She was incredibly kind, using her magic to heal others."

"Hold on a moment!" Simon interrupted. "Mother possessed magic?"

Alucard gave him an odd look. "Don't you remember the time she used magic to heal that cut on your knee?"

Simon's eyes widened, as if only then remembering.

"We were wed in early spring, shortly after I was knighted. I still remember it as if it was yesterday," Alucard continued. "Sypha fell pregnant not too long after, and Simon was born the following year. We had been trying for another child for a few years before I came to the castle, but…"

He couldn't bring himself to finish.

No one spoke for a period of time after that as a wave of sorrow washed over the room. If there was one thing that all three generations of men could understand it was the deep sting that came with the loss of a loved one.

"I'm so sorry, my son…" Dracula broke the silence. "If I had known…"

Reaching out, Alucard took one of his father's hands in his, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "I know, father… It's in the past now. Let's try to focus on the future."

Dracula simply nodded his head in agreement.


End file.
